[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 213 (Wednesday, December 17, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5947-H5956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 0920
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6703, LOWER HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS
FOR ALL AMERICANS ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 498, DO NO
HARM IN MEDICAID ACT; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3492, PROTECT
CHILDREN'S INNOCENCE ACT; AND RELATING TO CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4776,
STANDARDIZING PERMITTING AND EXPEDITING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT
MR. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 953 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 953
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be
in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 6703) to
ensure access to affordable health insurance. All points of
order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill
shall be considered as read. All points of order against
provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question
shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any
amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion
except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided among and
controlled by the respective chairs and ranking minority
members of the Committees on Education and Workforce, Energy
and Commerce, and Ways and Means, or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 498) to amend
title XIX of the Social Security Act to prohibit Federal
Medicaid funding for gender transition procedures for minors.
All points of order against consideration of the bill are
waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of
order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on
any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 3. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3492) to amend
section 116 of title 18, United States Code, with respect to
genital and bodily mutilation and chemical castration of
minors. All points of order against consideration of the bill
are waived. The amendment in the nature of a substitute
recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now printed in
the bill shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as
amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order
against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill,
as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final
passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or
their respective designees; (2) the further amendment printed
in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution, if offered by the Member designated in the
report, which shall be in order without intervention of any
point of order, shall be considered as read, shall be
separately debatable for the time specified in the report
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an
opponent, and shall not be subject to a demand for division
of the question; and (3) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 4. During consideration of the bill (H.R. 4776) to
amend the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to
clarify ambiguous provisions and facilitate a more efficient,
effective, and timely environmental review process, pursuant
to House Resolution 951, the further amendment specified in
section 5 of this resolution shall be considered as adopted
in the House and in the Committee of the Whole.
Sec. 5. The amendment referred to in section 4 of this
resolution is as follows:
``Page 29, after line 6, insert the following:
SEC. 4. PRESERVATION OF ONGOING ADMINISTRATIVE CORRECTIONS.
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall not
apply to any agency action with respect to which a Federal
agency has, during the period beginning on January 20, 2025,
and ending on the date of enactment of this Act--
(1) filed a motion to voluntarily remand; or
(2) otherwise reopened, reconsidered, or initiated
corrective action under the statutory authority of the
Federal agency, regardless of whether the Federal agency has
completed such corrective action as of the date of enactment
of this Act.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Virginia is recognized
for 1 hour.
MR. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
[[Page H5948]]
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Virginia?
There was no objection.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Rules Committee met last night and reported out a
rule providing for consideration of three measures: H.R. 6703, Lower
Healthcare Premiums for All Americans Act; H.R. 498, Do No Harm in
Medicaid Act; and H.R. 3492, Protect Children's Innocence Act.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 953 provides for consideration of H.R.
6703, the Lower Healthcare Premiums for All Americans Act, under a
closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate, equally
divided among and controlled by the respective chairs and ranking
minority members of the Committees on Education and the Workforce,
Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means, or their respective designees,
and one motion to recommit.
The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 498, the Do No Harm
in Medicaid Act, under a closed rule with 1 hour of general debate,
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member
of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, or their respective designees,
and provides one motion to recommit.
The rule further provides for consideration of H.R. 3492, the Protect
Children's Innocence Act, under a structured rule with 1 hour of
general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary, or their respective
designees, and provides each one a motion to recommit.
Finally, the rule provides that, during consideration of H.R. 4776,
pursuant to House Resolution 951, the further amendment specified in
section 5 of this resolution shall be considered as adopted.
Mr. Speaker, this rule deals with several important bills that will
lower healthcare costs for Americans and protect children. One of the
bills, H.R. 3492, the Protect Children's Innocence Act, is led by the
gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene).
This bill prohibits genital and bodily mutilation and chemical
castration for a minor, which generally is anyone under the age of 18
years, while also preserving the exception for this care if there is a
legitimate medical need for certain procedures.
Another bill we are considering in this rule is H.R. 498, the Do No
Harm in Medicaid Act, led by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw).
This is a simple bill that prohibits Federal medical dollars to pay
for gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18.
The bill also includes protections for individuals if some of those
treatments are medically necessary.
These are important bills to ensure that Federal taxpayer dollars are
not going toward a minor's gender transition surgery if it is not
medically necessary. These bills also put guardrails in place so that
minors cannot make permanent life-altering decisions before they are 18
years of age.
Finally, we are considering H.R. 6703, the Lower Healthcare Premiums
for All Americans Act, led by the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-
Meeks).
This bill lowers premiums for Americans, creates more insurance
options, brings greater transparency, and cuts red tape.
Unlike our Democrat friends' plan, our Republican plan actually
lowers premiums by double digits, roughly 11 percent, according to the
data.
All the Democrats want to do is throw billions more dollars toward
insurance companies. Instead of attempting to lower the premiums of the
individuals who are on the insurance plan that the Democrats created,
which should be called the unaffordable care act, the Democrats have
cried wolf that Republicans are responsible for premiums being
unaffordable, but let's get the facts straight.
Every single Democrat voted in support of the so-called Affordable
Care Act. They claimed that people's premiums would be lowered;
patients would have more choice; and if you like your doctor, you can
keep him or her. However, just the opposite has happened. Their so-
called Affordable Care Act has caused premiums to skyrocket. Due to
this, the Democrats are too afraid to own up to the fact that their
health plan has failed to actually lower premiums.
Instead, they have said to themselves: Hey, instead of acknowledging
our failure, let's just blame the Republicans for that failure.
Mr. Speaker, I distinctly remember a hearing before the Committee on
Energy and Commerce, shortly after I was elected, where most of the
witnesses said that the so-called Affordable Care Act was going to make
insurance premiums go up for Americans.
Mr. Speaker, that was over a decade ago, but the Democrats on the
committee insisted that the witnesses were wrong and that Republicans
were merely trying to scare the American people.
Mr. Speaker, unfortunately for the American people, the witnesses
were right. The so-called Affordable Care Act has, in fact, negatively
impacted the price of health insurance in America. This plan, the so-
called Affordable Care Act, is a major reason that your insurance
premiums have gone up and have done so repeatedly.
When not blaming Republicans for the failures of this so-called
Affordable Care Act, do you know what the Democrats' solution is? Folks
watching this debate at home won't be surprised to know it. Democrats
want to throw billions of additional dollars to healthcare insurance
companies in an attempt to distract the American people from their own
policy failures.
I don't know if you all have been following the news closely, but the
insurance companies that the Democrats want to give an additional $85
billion to with their 3-year clean extension of the temporary COVID
enhanced premium tax credits have not been knocking on the doors, Mr.
Speaker, of the United States bankruptcy courts seeking protection or
aid. In fact, they have been making record profits--record profits.
(930)
Further, we know these temporary COVID-enhanced premium tax credits
have been riddled with waste, fraud, and abuse.
The independent Government Accountability Office recently came out
with a preliminary report that showed one Social Security number was
used to receive over 125 different insurance policies in 2023 alone.
That is fraud.
There is also a huge amount of waste. Mr. Speaker, my estimate, based
on data that I have seen, is that roughly 20 percent of enrollees in
the temporary COVID-enhanced premium tax credits don't really exist.
They are shadow enrollees.
Let me explain. In most healthcare insurance plans, they generally
have about 15 percent of the enrollees who make no claims in a given
year. In the arena of the temporary COVID-enhanced premium tax credits,
that number for those particular policies that have no claims is closer
to 35 percent. There is no reasonable explanation, Mr. Speaker, other
than those extra 20 percent of people not making claims don't really
exist. Now, I call this waste and not fraud, and that is because I
actually believe the insurance companies don't know which enrollees are
shadow enrollees.
How does this happen? It is a glitch in the way the bill was written
originally. People move around. If an individual signed up for a
program in north Florida to receive the enhanced premium tax credit and
then moved to south Georgia, or even to another city in Florida, and
signed up again, thinking, ``Well, I have moved, so I probably need a
different plan,'' the consumer has a right to believe that somebody at
their new plan or new company will notify the old carrier that they
have switched policies.
The way the program was designed by our friends on the other side of
the aisle, that never happens, and because an individual is
automatically reenrolled each year, this can go on for years. Thus,
over time, it builds up to that 20 percent of shadow enrollees.
We cannot, in good conscience, in defense of the American taxpayers'
money, just cleanly extend these temporary COVID-enhanced premium tax
credits without addressing the realities behind the waste, the fraud,
and the abuse that is occurring in this program.
I also find it interesting that the Democrats voted twice to extend
these temporary enhanced premium tax credits but specifically did not
make these
[[Page H5949]]
premium tax credits permanent. They didn't do it. They had many
opportunities to make these permanent if they wanted to do that as much
as they say today, but they didn't. They had many opportunities to make
these permanent if the enhanced premium tax credits were as imperative
to make the system work as they will claim here on the floor today, and
have been for several weeks, but they didn't do it.
Whose fault is that? Logic would tell us it is the Democrats' fault,
but when it comes to healthcare, the Democrats are never willing to
admit their policies failed. What do they do? Blame Republicans.
In the Inflation Reduction Act, Mr. Speaker, the Democrats
prioritized giving out around $1 trillion to Green New Deal initiatives
instead of making their temporary premium tax credit program permanent.
The fact is, even they couldn't find the votes when they had control
of both Houses and the White House to make the enhanced premium tax
credits permanent. Now, they are demanding Republicans do what they
could not do and clean up their mess, which was an add-on to the so-
called Affordable Care Act.
I can't make that make sense, and, Mr. Speaker, I bet you can't
either.
What are they asking for now? You guessed it: another temporary
extension that fails to address the underlying causes of the
skyrocketing costs; doesn't deal with the waste, fraud, and abuse; and
worsens healthcare access caused by their so-called Affordable Care
Act. Instead, they just want to blame Republicans, use it as a
political issue, and give more money to insurance companies making
enormous profits.
What the Republicans have drafted is a plan to address health issues
across the board for our people and for our Nation. This bill brings
more transparency on the pharmacy benefit manager middlemen, better
known as PBMs, for employers. For too long, PBMs have gotten away with
operating in a black box and causing drug prices to rise. We are
bringing transparency into the commercial market for PBMs under this
bill.
The bill also expands access to association health plans, which allow
small businesses and self-employed workers to band together and
purchase health insurance. One of the biggest complaints we hear from
businesses, especially small businesses, is the rising costs of
premiums that they have.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, Virginia tried to create these plans, and CMS
told them they couldn't do it, that they would penalize them. The
Virginia Association of Realtors--let's see if I got the name right--in
an article from 2023, the leader said that they would create a plan for
7,000 association members who were uninsured because they don't make
enough money to afford the Federal marketplace coverage--that would be
the so-called Affordable Care Act--or to qualify for subsidies in the
small group and individual plans.
These small businesses don't have the bargaining power that larger
businesses do to help lower their premiums. Allowing these small
businesses to join together and have more bargaining power will help
lower their health insurance costs.
Another part of the plan codifies a 2019 Trump administration rule
that allows employers to give tax-advantaged dollars to their
employees, who can then use those dollars to purchase health insurance
and for other medical costs. When businesses are planning their
financial future, unpredictable health insurance costs and rising
premiums make it almost financially unviable in some cases. Allowing
businesses to have this option brings them more certainty and will give
power to their employees to choose a plan that is best for them.
Another flexibility we grant under this bill is by exempting stop-
loss insurance from the definition of health insurance coverage. Stop-
loss coverage is a type of coverage an employer can purchase to protect
themselves from unexpected catastrophic health claims if that employer
has chosen to self-insure their employees' healthcare. This allows an
employer to limit the financial risk imposed on them if an employee, or
a few of them, have unusually high medical claims that exceed the
budgeted amount. Some States have attempted to restrict or prohibit
these plans, which makes a self-insured option less attractive.
This bill clarifies that this type of coverage is exempted from the
definition of health insurance coverage, which means that these States
would be limited in how they can regulate stop-loss coverage while
still having to follow the regulations of ERISA.
On top of all of this, I would reiterate that the bill lowers
premiums of individuals who are enrolled in the so-called Affordable
Care Act plans by roughly 11 percent. It does this by appropriating
dollars for cost-sharing reductions. This will stop the practice of
silver loading by putting dollars toward lowering beneficiaries' out-
of-pocket costs, which in turn lowers premiums for Americans who are on
the so-called Affordable Care Act, again, by roughly 11 percent.
Today, Mr. Speaker, you will hear my friends and colleagues on the
other side, the Democrats, tell you this plan is not meaningful and
that the only way to help individuals is to throw more money at big
insurance. Throwing more money at the insurance companies, Mr. Speaker,
is not the answer.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for
yielding the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, we heard a lot of words from the gentleman from
Virginia, but the reality is that some people's premiums are going up
100 percent. Their big, grand plan is to give people an 11 percent
coupon. This is laughable. It is pathetic.
Mr. Speaker, here we are, likely one of the very last floor debates
of the year, and Republicans have decided to use it to eliminate
healthcare for millions of Americans, not by accident, but because they
simply don't care, because they are clueless. They are incompetent, and
they are unbelievably out of touch.
This Republican majority has done nothing for working people, nothing
to lower costs, nothing to make life more affordable, but, boy, have
they delivered for billionaires, corporations, and special interests.
They have spent an entire year screwing over the people they
represent. They are betraying the voters who sent them here.
{time} 0940
They are pretending like Trump's economy is great, even though they
know it sucks. They have showered tax breaks on the ultrarich. They
have bent the knee to Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. They have
handed the Pentagon billions it didn't even ask for, and now they have
the nerve to tell working families: Sorry, no money for your
healthcare; can't do a thing.
I mean, really? Give me a freaking break.
The American people are begging for action on affordability. They are
begging for action to lower the cost of healthcare. What more do they
need to do to get Republicans to take action?
Premiums are about to double, triple, and in some cases, quadruple.
Families could see their premiums increase as much as $1,000 a month.
Open enrollment deadlines have already passed. Parents have sat at
their kitchen tables and realized that between rent, groceries,
childcare, and Trump's tariffs driving up the cost of damn near
everything, health insurance is something they could no longer afford.
Instead of a plan on healthcare, last night in the Rules Committee, I
heard one Republican excuse after another about why they can't extend
these tax credits that help people get insurance coverage.
You guys have been in charge of this place for 3 years, for God's
sake. Donald Trump has been President or running for President for like
a decade. Where the hell is the Republican plan on healthcare? Where is
it?
Republicans keep blaming the ACA. They have spent years and years
trying to repeal it, but they haven't repealed it yet because they have
no replacement, no alternative.
Mr. Speaker, one of your own Republican Members called this entire
charade political malpractice. He was right.
Meanwhile, Democrats have been trying for months to avert this
crisis.
[[Page H5950]]
Governors, doctors, and patients have been sounding the alarm. Instead
of working with us, they decided to shut down the government. Instead
of trying to partner with us, Donald Trump is calling affordability a
con job. That is unbelievable and so out of touch with reality.
Now, Republicans have slapped together this pathetic bill to provide
cover, a bill that is not worth the paper it is printed on, a bill that
actually kicks people off of coverage and fails to extend the tax
credits that keep healthcare affordable for over 20 million Americans.
I mean, come on. Get real.
Just to make sure that we all know that they aren't serious,
Republicans included a poison pill which brings us closer and closer to
a nationwide abortion ban. They are going after abortion even in States
where it is legal.
I mean, who the hell asked for this? This is like a plot of ``The
Handmaid's Tale.''
Despite Republicans' endless attempts to undermine the ACA, it is
popular because it works. After Democrats strengthened people's ability
to pay for healthcare by plussing up the premium tax credits,
enrollment more than doubled from around 11 million to over 24 million
Americans with real health insurance.
Eighty-eight percent of that growth happened in States that Donald
Trump won in 2024, by the way. So by choosing to not extend these
credits, Republicans are simply hurting their own constituents, hurting
the people who trusted them, and hurting the people who voted for them.
More than 20 million Americans will see their healthcare costs
explode on January 1. Instead of a fix, we get a stupid, pathetic,
last-minute bill designed to let Republicans cover their ass before
they flee town for the holidays.
What a lousy, rotten, pathetic thing to do. This is a terrible bill
that screws over millions of American families. I urge every Member of
this House to vote ``hell, no'' on this Republican rule.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from Georgia (Ms. Greene).
Ms. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am here this morning to urge my
colleagues to support the rule which includes H.R. 3492, the Protect
Children's Innocence Act.
My bill criminalizes the genital mutilation, such as this young lady
right here, and chemical castration of children, imprisoning offenders
for up to 10 years.
For far too long, children have been sexually exploited under the
malicious falsehood of so-called gender-affirming care.
Mutilating children's bodies and giving them sterilizing drugs is
anything but affirming and anything but care, especially given the fact
that this is happening in too many cases before these kids are ever old
enough to legally vote, legally get a tattoo, ink printed on their own
bodies, and make real adult decisions.
The same drug that has been used to chemically castrate sex offenders
has been given to children who have been manipulated into thinking they
were born in the wrong body.
Everyone knows that children many times are confused about who they
want to be when they grow up or about their identity. The children are
not to blame. It is our job as adults to protect these kids and allow
them to grow up safely and healthy and not make decisions that last a
lifetime, such as this right here that happened to this teenage girl.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to the rule, and I
urge my colleagues to do the most responsible thing any adult can do
for a child and protect them while they grow up.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The gentleman from Virginia keeps saying that if we really supported
premium tax credits that we would have made them permanent.
I think we all know that is kind of ridiculous because I want to
point out that their number one floor protocol requires that programs
end or sunset by a certain date. I mean, it was part of their
ridiculous Pledge to America. I mean, maybe they don't believe all of
the garbage that they put out there, but that is their protocol.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett).
Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, in a bill that they call ``big'' and
``beautiful,'' Republicans have approved the biggest reduction in
access to healthcare in American history. They rejected my amendment in
committee to maintain the tax credits that make the Affordable Care Act
truly affordable.
Now, after shutting down the government for weeks, delaying further
weeks, they offer this sorry bill, this loser, wrapped up in a bow for
Christmas.
To Andrew and his family down in Austin, this phony bill means zero
relief on premiums, premiums that are going to spike for his family by
nearly $2,000 per month. It means nothing for Russell, a prostate
cancer survivor just 2 years away from Medicare, wondering how he will
afford the screenings and any necessary care.
For a mother in Austin, who contacted me about the stop-loss
provision that is reinforced in this bill, it means the possibility
that after her 3-year-old child was diagnosed with cancer, they will
lose all their coverage.
These are real-life stories from my neighbors who have been forgotten
by Republicans in their rush to provide more tax benefits for their
billionaire buddies. They forget the struggles of so many working
Americans.
Republicans have made over 70 attempts to destroy the Affordable Care
Act, which they all opposed. They peddled junk insurance policies that
would deny essential consumer protection benefits under the Affordable
Care Act.
They could even make matters worse with one provision in this bill
that will allow the reinstituting of preexisting conditions that were
used to bar coverage for so many people before the Affordable Care Act.
This is their commitment to deny healthcare, to provide no relief on
premiums that are soaring. In short, it means replacing ObamaCare with
nothingcare.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
It gets curiouser and curiouser.
The gentleman from Massachusetts referenced that our protocol is to
have sunsets, but when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle had
the opportunity to make permanent the premium enhanced tax credits, we
didn't control the floor. They controlled the floor.
They don't have that protocol, as I understand it. They don't have
that protocol that they put sunsets on things. They could have and did
make other programs in the Green New Deal permanent. They could have
made it permanent; they chose not to. They had the Senate, the House,
and the Presidency.
It is not House Republican protocol that stopped them. It was a lack
of votes or will. If the program is so imperative today, why wasn't it
imperative for them 3 years ago?
{time} 0950
I submit this is a paper tiger and that there is no substance in
their arguments or, if some substance, just a small amount.
Mr. Speaker, they had the chance. They had the power, and they didn't
use it to do what they want us to do today to fix their problems with
their so-called Affordable Care Act.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I merely point out Republican hypocrisy which we deal
with every single day, and we want to have a vote on extending the tax
credits, but Republicans denied that in the Rules Committee.
Republicans could be bringing up a bill to make the enhanced premium
tax credits permanent, but they are not. Instead, what they did is they
brought a bill to the floor to make tax cuts for multimillionaires and
billionaires permanent. Every millionaire in this country is going to
get an $80,000 tax break. That is where their priorities are. Every
millionaire will get an $80 million tax credit, and the 25 million
people in this country who are relying on enhanced tax credits so they
won't lose their health insurance, they are basically saying to them:
To hell with you.
That is where their priorities are.
[[Page H5951]]
We don't share the same values when it comes to making sure the
people in this country have healthcare that is affordable and that is
quality. That is the difference. That is the difference.
We are here today to fight to make sure that we have a vote to extend
these tax credits so that people do not lose their health insurance and
people do not see their healthcare premiums explode.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs.
Sykes).
Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of my proposed
amendment to H.R. 6703 and in opposition to the underlying bill.
In 2 weeks, 22 million Americans will see their healthcare premiums
double, triple, or quadruple, costing them hundreds of additional
dollars a month, and more than 4 million Americans will lose their
coverage entirely. This includes 12,300 Ohioans in my district alone.
This Republican healthcare crisis is completely and entirely
preventable, and House Democrats and even a few Republicans have a
solution: Extend the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits.
Mr. Speaker, what do House Republicans propose instead?
It is a collection of failed policies that would raise prices,
leaving an additional 100,000 people without insurance and restricting
access to abortion care, setting the stage for a national abortion ban.
However, I believe it is my job to offer solutions to help the
American people and, specifically, my constituents in Ohio. That is why
I proposed an amendment to remove the section responsible for
increasing costs and limiting access to reproductive healthcare.
Right now, any and all abortion coverage provided under marketplace
plans are not paid for by Federal dollars. However, this bill would
impose unprecedented restrictions on private dollars and is yet another
Republican attempt to ban reproductive healthcare coverage across this
country.
It is unacceptable that Congress is about to head home having done
nothing--nothing--to protect the millions of Americans who will lose
coverage on January 1.
I have heard heartbreaking stories from my constituents who have no
clue how they are going to make ends meet as we enter into what should
be a merry holiday season.
Mr. Speaker, I had a professor in college who was very clear in
calling us out when we were unprepared when we showed up for our class.
He would call us derelict, negligent, and trifling.
This Congress, Mr. Speaker, is derelict, negligent, and trifling for
failing to ensure that Americans have healthcare coverage and we are
actually lowering their costs.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is deceptive at best and cruel at worst. I
urge my colleagues to extend the enhanced tax credits before it is too
late.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans keep talking about how Democrats want to
give more money to insurance companies, which is absolutely absurd, and
they all know that. Nothing could be more ridiculous.
Let me correct the record. First of all, ACA tax credits go to our
constituents to help them pay for healthcare. Second, it was the
Affordable Care Act, you know the bill that the gentleman and a lot of
Republicans want to repeal, which mandated that greedy insurance
companies have to spend 80 percent to 85 percent of premiums on medical
care. It is called the medical loss ratio. The gentleman should look it
up. It is in the Affordable Care Act.
When he is talking about repealing the ACA, he is the one who wants
to overturn that provision and let insurance companies rip people off
even more than they already do.
Let me make one last point. We could easily move away from health
insurance companies ripping people off. We could do what the vast
majority of developed nations do and move toward a public option so
that people don't have to choose a private health insurance company.
But to say the Democrats are the ones who want to enrich insurance
companies is absurd.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans support big banks. They support Big Tech.
They support billionaires, and they support tax breaks for huge, greedy
corporations. And they accuse Democrats of being in the pocket of the
insurance industry?
Give me a break. Nobody believes this BS.
Mr. Speaker, look at your big, ugly bill. Look at all the tax breaks
that go to millionaires and billionaires and big corporations. Every
millionaire, as I stated before, because of Republicans, are getting an
$80,000 tax break, every millionaire in this country.
What we are saying here is we want to make sure that health insurance
is affordable for every single person in this country, and Republicans
are replying by: We can't be bothered with that. That is not where our
priorities are.
Maybe they don't write big enough checks for their campaigns.
The bottom line is that we are here arguing that people in this
country shouldn't lose their healthcare because they can't afford it.
We could do something right this instant to fix that. Republicans are
blocking every attempt, and they are bringing this crappy bill to the
floor that didn't even go through regular order and it didn't go
through committee. They just patched it together and brought it before
the Rules Committee.
By the way, CBO says that their terrible bill that they are bringing
to the floor will throw another 100,000 people off of health insurance.
By just passing this bill, 100,000 additional people will lose their
health insurance. This is ridiculous.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) who is the chairwoman of the Rules Committee.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the vice chair of the committee for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, the unaffordable care act was born as a lie and
continues to be promoted in terms that are lies.
Mr. Speaker, do you remember these promises?
If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your
health insurance, you can keep your insurance. Americans will save over
$2,500 per year.
All of those were lies, and now those who continue to support the
unaffordable care act are misleading Americans about its current
situation.
When the law was first debated, Democrats insisted that only 50
million Americans couldn't afford health insurance. That was exposed as
a lie. Many Americans proved simply to be forgoing insurance in many
instances. Democrats used this as an excuse to rewrite the entire
framework of the individual healthcare insurance marketplace, forcing
people onto plans that had their premiums rise by 129 percent since
2014. Indeed, the very first year ObamaCare went into effect, premiums
skyrocketed by 47 percent. This is the true record of the unaffordable
care act.
Despite the lies that continue to be told in the media to this day,
Republicans have always proposed alternatives to the failed
unaffordable care act framework that Democrats continue to force onto
Americans. We are doing it again with this bill.
Instead of simply enabling the current fraud, waste, and abuse
exposed in the unaffordable care act subsidy scheme that Democrats are
addicted to, we are offering transformative policies that will root out
hidden costs, attack inflationary programs, and increase competition
throughout the entire healthcare insurance marketplace, lowering
premiums for all Americans.
However, Mr. Speaker, even when all the evidence is presented to them
on how rancid of a healthcare scheme the unaffordable care act really
is, Democrats leap to their feet and become entirely apoplectic. They
do not tell the truth about the current situation or what we are doing.
{time} 1000
This is why: They fused themselves to the unaffordable care act to
such a point that they outright refuse to seek reasonable reforms that
help Americans afford healthcare. They won't do it.
Look at how they have superglued themselves to their temporary COVID
subsidies that they themselves concocted and stamped an end date on, as
my colleague has said.
[[Page H5952]]
I suppose all they know how to do is prop up a failed program that is
littered with waste, fraud, and abuse, like cancerous lesions.
Don't take my word for it. Just look at the GAO report: Its estimates
show millions of improper enrollments, costing American taxpayers up to
$27 billion annually. One Social Security number used for 26,000 days
of coverage, and more than 58,000 deceased people receiving tax
credits.
All in all, it is a massive, fraudulent boondoggle for the American
people. Meanwhile, Republicans remain committed to rooting out waste,
fraud, and abuse in all corners of the Federal Government.
The CBO already confirmed that our efforts to root out waste, fraud,
and abuse in the unaffordable care act, by way of H.R. 1, lowered
healthcare premiums for enrollees. Imagine that, attacking waste and
fraud lowers costs. Yet, Democrats want to embrace the opposite and
cement a system of inflation.
Here is the kicker, Mr. Speaker: Only 7 percent of Americans enrolled
in an unaffordable care act plan would see a paltry 4 percent decrease
in their premiums if these subsidies were extended.
Republicans are advancing real reforms in healthcare. Unlike
Democrats, we are not attempting to place a Band-Aid on a ruptured
artery and call it a day.
Mr. Speaker, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act is
our solution. It is the solution that the American people deserve.
It would lower healthcare premiums by 11 percent for all Americans,
increase healthcare access, expand choice in healthcare, and bring
about greater transparency to the healthcare system in the United
States.
Republicans are offering a clear, responsible, and straightforward
solution so that all Americans have access to healthcare that is
affordable and meets their respective needs.
If our colleagues were serious about making healthcare more
affordable for Americans, they would support this bill alongside
Republicans. Let's see what they choose to do.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman, the chairwoman of the Rules Committee,
knows I have great affection for her, but I just want to correct
something. She says that the Republicans have always had a plan to deal
with healthcare and to lower costs for people, but the truth is they
have always said they have a plan, but they have never had a plan.
Let me just go through a list of things here.
In February 2016, then-Presidential candidate Donald Trump said: ``We
are going to replace ObamaCare with something so much better.'' Nothing
followed.
On February 27, 2017, the President said: ``We have a really
terrific, I believe, healthcare plan coming out.'' Never did.
May 10, 2018, Donald Trump said: ``But wait until you see the plans
that we have coming out literally over the next 4 weeks. We have great
healthcare plans coming out.'' Nothing happened.
At a press gaggle near Air Force One in May 2019, he said: ``We are
coming up with a great healthcare plan. We are going to have fantastic
healthcare, and the plan is coming out over the next 4 weeks.'' Nothing
ever materialized.
June 16, 2019, the President said: ``We are going to produce
phenomenal healthcare, and we already have the concept of a plan, and
it will be so much better healthcare. Yeah, well, we will be announcing
it in about 2 months, maybe less.'' Nothing happened.
In a FOX News interview, the President said: ``We are signing a
healthcare plan within 2 weeks, a full and complete healthcare plan.''
Nothing happened.
July 2020, the President said: ``Well, we are going to be doing a
healthcare plan. We are going to be doing a very inclusive healthcare
plan. I will be signing it sometime very soon. It might be--it might be
Sunday, but it is going to be very soon.'' Nothing happened.
August 3, 2020, the President said: ``We are going to be introducing
a tremendous healthcare plan sometime prior--hopefully, prior to the
end of the month. It is just about completed now.'' Nothing.
September 15, 2020, the President says: ``You are going to have new
healthcare. We have other alternatives to ObamaCare that are 50 percent
less expensive, and they are actually better.'' Nothing. It never
happened.
September 10, 2024, ABC News Presidential debate, he says: ``I have
concepts of a plan. . . . You will be hearing about it in the not-too-
distant future.'' Nothing happened.
December 8, 2024, he said: ``Yes, we have concepts of a plan that
would be better. You will see it very soon.'' It produced nothing.
In May 2025, at a White House event, he said: ``So we are going to
maybe come up with something. I think this gives the Republicans a
chance to actually do a healthcare that is much better than
ObamaCare.'' Nothing.
People are sick and tired of the empty rhetoric. They are sick and
tired of Republicans saying they have a plan, and they never produce
one. All they want to do is undermine healthcare for hardworking,
average Americans.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California
(Ms. Rivas).
Ms. RIVAS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding to
me.
Republicans have been in the majority and in control for this whole
year, yet they have not put forward a bill that helps working families
with the rising cost of living or to prevent hardworking Americans'
healthcare premiums from skyrocketing in price.
Republicans drove the country into a healthcare crisis, and they
continue to have no pathway to get us out of it.
With healthcare premiums set to skyrocket at the end of December,
Republicans' solution is an unserious proposal that kicks millions of
Americans off their coverage, puts healthcare out of reach, and takes
away women's freedom to make their own healthcare decisions.
Under Republicans' concept of a healthcare plan, working Americans
will be forced to make tough decisions, such as if they should take
their child to the doctor or buy groceries for the week. Republicans'
concept of a healthcare plan means bankruptcy will be one medical
emergency away for millions of Americans.
If Republicans were serious about helping their constituents and
addressing the healthcare crisis that they manufactured with the big,
ugly bill, they would join Democrats and vote to extend the ACA tax
credits for 3 years. We only need one more Republican to sign, one more
to help American families afford healthcare.
I will vote ``no'' on this rule and the underlying bill to protect my
over 31,000 constituents who rely on these ACA tax credits to make
their healthcare affordable. I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side continually say that we
haven't done anything. We just received a message from the Senate on a
Republican bill that does something. Now, they may not like it, but I
find it fascinating. These debates are always so interesting, Mr.
Speaker.
They say we haven't put forward anything at some points, and at other
points in their debate, they claim that this bill is terrible, that it
does nothing.
Let me remind you, Mr. Speaker, that a part of this bill revives a
Democratic plan that was supposed to be short term called cost-sharing
reductions. It is fascinating because during the first Trump
administration, in May 2017, my Democratic colleagues--and I know some
of them weren't here yet--but 196 of them, including the gentleman from
Massachusetts, signed a letter asking--because it was not codified--
President Trump to use his executive power to continue the cost-sharing
reduction plan.
{time} 1010
Mr. Speaker, I would love to hear from my colleagues why cost-sharing
reduction by them was considered to be so important to be continued to
help 7 million hardworking Americans and their families, more than
half--I am reading from their letter--of all marketplace enrollees for
2017 afford their out-of-pocket healthcare costs. That is what cost-
sharing reduction does.
Today, they claim, as a part of our bill, it is nothing. It is
worthless. It is
[[Page H5953]]
not worth the paper it is written on, but in 2017, 196 of them,
including the gentleman from Massachusetts, asked the President of the
United States to continue the program.
Today, we are answering that call, saying we will answer that and put
it in our bill, but because it is now proposed as part of a Republican
bill, my colleagues, for some reason, don't remember their position in
2017 and call it trash.
Could it be mere political posturing for November elections? I submit
it is.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an
amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of H.R. 6074, which
would extend the Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits for 3
years, through 2028.
Mr. Speaker, this is it. This is the one last chance this year, this
session, for this Republican majority to do the right thing and vote to
extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits.
If Republicans allow them to expire, millions of Americans, millions
of their constituents, will be faced with rising health insurance costs
and, in some cases, by more than $1,000 per month.
Mr. Speaker, I have an important announcement to make, and if there
is anybody in the press gallery listening, I want them to hear this. I
have called on Republicans to put country over politics, put country
over their party, to do the right thing for their constituents. We have
a discharge petition that 214 Democrats have signed on to, to force a
bill on a 3-year clean extension. While we have been debating, four
Republicans have actually done that.
We are now at 218. What that means is that it sets in place a process
that will allow us to vote on a clean extension. We have 218 people who
will vote for it, which means we will pass it.
Unfortunately, the procedures on a discharge petition mean that we
can't get to it until we come back from our holiday break in January,
but we don't need to wait for the discharge petition to ripen. We can
actually act today if we want to preserve the tax credits for 20
million working-class Americans that rely on them.
Democrats in this House and in the Senate have acted like adults
during our entire monthslong effort to get Republicans to do the right
thing. I thank those Republicans who signed the discharge petition
because that is actually going to make sure that we have a vote and
that we can extend these tax benefits.
Again, we can kind of short-circuit the process. If we defeat the
previous question, we could vote on it today. We are offering this to
be able to bring it up immediately.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material,
immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Doggett) for the purpose of a colloquy.
Mr. DOGGETT. While we are thankful for this belated decision of four
Republicans here at the last minute to join the discharge petition,
unless they join us in voting in favor of this action on the previous
question, there is nothing that can be done this year because the
Speaker will continue to obstruct premium relief for Americans.
Mr. McGOVERN. That is correct. We do thank these Republicans for
getting us to 218, but we hope they would join us.
Mr. DOGGETT. This would be the key vote?
Mr. McGOVERN. This would be the key vote.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut
(Mrs. Hayes) to discuss our proposal.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to defeat the previous question and
bring up H.R. 6074, which provides for a clean 3-year extension of the
Affordable Care Act enhanced tax credits.
Congress has 3 legislative days left to extend the ACA tax credits,
or they will expire at the end of the year. The impact of the tax
credits expiring is devastating. Expiration of the tax credits will
result in health premiums increasing by an average of 114 percent for
individuals who rely on the marketplace, forcing 4.2 million people to
lose their health insurance.
I hear the fear in the voices of my constituents, Republicans and
Democrats, and Americans across the country who talk about healthcare
and the looming crisis. Small business owners, independent contractors,
retirees, farmers, and constituents in my district continue to call my
office or stop me to share how they will be unable to afford healthcare
as they continue to experience rising costs for essentials like
groceries, insurance, utilities, and housing.
If Republicans can find a way to provide tax cuts for billionaires,
Congress can find a way to provide relief for individuals to access
healthcare. As I have said, we are under the pressure of time. We have
a discharge petition, but that will take 7 days for a ripening through
the House procedures. What we can do today is vote to defeat this
previous question.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the four Republicans who have joined us, but
time is of the essence. They need to go one step further and vote to
defeat the previous question, alongside Democrats, so that we can have
a vote today in this House before we go on break.
Congress must protect healthcare and lower the costs for all
Americans by extending the ACA tax credits.
As my colleague, Mr. McGovern, said, this isn't about Democrats. This
is all of our constituents who benefit from the Affordable Care Act.
This is all of our constituents who face rising deductibles and
premiums. This is all of our constituents who fear that they will lose
their healthcare. No reasonable proposal has been introduced. This is
what we have today.
Help us defeat the previous question.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 5\1/2\
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Virginia has 4\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
Mr. Speaker, Republicans love to find ways to justify kicking
millions of working people off of healthcare. The chairwoman of the
Rules Committee talked about fraud. If fraud is your primary concern,
how about you start with President Trump, who has pardoned or commuted
not one, not two, but 12 people. He pardoned 12 people convicted of
healthcare fraud. My Republican friends have been silent, not a word.
One guy was convicted of $1.3 billion in a Medicare fraud scheme, the
largest healthcare fraud scheme charged by the Department of Justice.
We had another woman convicted of orchestrating $205 million in a
Medicare fraud scheme involving assisted living facilities. We had
another guy convicted of 67 counts of healthcare fraud and related
charges relating to Medicare and other healthcare programs.
I could go on and on, Mr. Speaker. I am not sure what they did to
earn those pardons, but maybe they promised to say nice things about
Trump.
When Republicans come to the floor and talk about fraud, just
remember that they are the ones who pardoned over and over and over
again healthcare fraudsters while at the same time screwing over the
American people by taking away their healthcare.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, let's be honest about what is happening here because
this really is not that complicated, and the American people aren't
stupid.
This Republican bill does not fix the healthcare crisis facing this
country. It doesn't even try. Instead, Republicans are going to raise
costs, weaken coverage, and deliberately allow the Affordable Care Act
tax credits to expire, knowing full well that millions of families will
lose affordable coverage as a result.
That outcome is not a side effect. It is the point. For more than a
decade,
[[Page H5954]]
Republicans have promised a better healthcare system, a replacement for
the ACA, something, anything that would justify taking coverage away
from people who need it.
Ten years later, there is still no plan, no replacement, no solution.
Why? Because they are totally fine with a system of the haves and have-
nots. They want a system where those at the top have affordable care,
and everyone else is left in the dust.
{time} 1020
Mr. Speaker, Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives
for 3 long years. During that time, the priorities of this majority
have been crystal clear.
When billionaires, CEOs, and corporate special interests need
something, Republicans move with lightning speed. Loopholes appear out
of nowhere. Regulations vanish into thin air while Big Oil, Big Tech,
and big banks get what they want.
Republicans have no problem handing out massive tax giveaways to
donors who write big campaign checks. They have no problem padding the
profits of greedy corporations. They have no problem voting to give the
Pentagon $8 billion more than it even asked for without so much as a
shrug.
When it comes to working people, when they need affordable
healthcare, suddenly the story changes. Suddenly, there is hand-
wringing. Suddenly, there is paralysis. Suddenly, the money is gone.
Suddenly, America can't pay for it.
If my friends on the other side of the aisle are okay with that, we
do not share the same values. If they think it is fine to give handouts
to billionaires, while stealing healthcare from regular people, we do
not have the same moral compass.
The bottom line is this country has a Republican Congress that works
just fine for the rich and powerful, while telling everybody else to
tighten their belts.
There is always money for giveaways to CEOs and corporate stock
buybacks. There is always money for billionaire tax shelters. When a
working family needs help staying insured, Republicans say it is too
expensive. This is a question of our priorities as a Nation.
What makes this even more infuriating is that Democrats have already
put forward a responsible and reasonable solution that would help stop
this crisis in its tracks. We have 218 people who have signed this
discharge petition. Mr. Speaker, four Republicans signed this discharge
petition. I hope they will vote to bring this same bill up today.
To the moderates who didn't get the opportunity to sign it, I say
this. This is their chance to go on record and show their constituents
that they are serious about getting this done. Imagine what that would
mean. It would mean lower costs, stable coverage, and a Congress that
proves it still answers to working families instead of to the
billionaire class. Instead, we get this GOP inaction and incompetence.
Mr. Speaker, at the end of the day, healthcare coverage should not
depend on how much money someone makes. We live in the richest country
on Earth. Healthcare should be a human right available to every person
and every community without exception.
The United States remains the only major developed Nation that does
not guarantee healthcare for everyone. That is not because we can't
afford it. It is because powerful interests make too much money from
the status quo.
To any Republican who knows this bill is wrong, who understands what
this will do back home, and who still believes that this institution
should work for the people it represents, this is the moment. Extend
the tax credits. Protect the coverage of our constituents. Stand with
us to say that it is time for Congress to put patients ahead of profits
and working families ahead of billionaires.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is absolutely correct on this one point.
If what they want is socialized medicine, yes, I am against it and so
are most of the Republicans in this House. We are not for socialized
medicine.
When I was a student, I remember being in Edinburgh in 1979. Mr.
Finch across the hall with socialized medicine had to wait 10 months to
get surgery for a blockage in his heart.
When I came home, I discovered that in the United States it would
have been 3 days before he would have had that surgery. He died a
couple of years later because socialized medicine warehouses people
until they have time to get to them. That is not what our system does
nor should it.
Further, I would say that the Democrats come here today, and it is
their healthcare system. They created it. When they created the
Affordable Care Act, there were no Republican votes. When they extended
it or changed it a little bit and eventually renewed it again in the
Inflation Reduction Act, there were no Republican votes for that.
Today, they want to blame Republicans for their policy failures. The
American people will eventually see through that. I know they have done
a great job of convincing the American people that is the case, but it
isn't true.
They talk about the fact that, as costs are going up and they want
this new plan to throw $85 billion at the insurance companies, 85
percent has to be spent on healthcare. That is true.
Mr. Speaker, 15 percent of $500 that the insurance companies get to
put in their pockets is a whole lot less than 15 percent of $2,000. If
we throw more money at the insurance companies, the big insurance
executives get more money to put in their pockets. They are smiling
like Cheshire cats as the costs go up and they pocket larger profits.
Perhaps my Democratic colleagues don't want to admit it or don't
realize that they are the front men for big insurance, but that is what
they are. They are the front men for big insurance. Instead of facing
reality, their answer is to blame the Republicans and throw more
taxpayer money at the big insurance companies.
Mr. Speaker, giving the insurance companies more money will not solve
our healthcare problems.
The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 953 Offered By Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 6. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the
House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the
bill (H.R. 6074) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to extend the enhancement of the health care premium tax
credit. All points of order against consideration of the bill
are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points
of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill
and on any amendment thereto to final passage without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 7. Clause 1(c) of the rule XIX shall not apply to the
consideration of H.R. 6074.
Mr. GRIFFITH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on
the question of adoption of the resolution.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 204,
nays 203, not voting 26, as follows:
[Roll No. 343]
YEAS--204
Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei (NV)
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Barrett
Bean (FL)
Begich
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs (AZ)
Biggs (SC)
Bilirakis
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Bresnahan
Buchanan
Burchett
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Comer
Crane
Crank
Crawford
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Donalds
Downing
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
[[Page H5955]]
Estes
Evans (CO)
Ezell
Fallon
Fedorchak
Fine
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Garbarino
Gill (TX)
Gimenez
Goldman (TX)
Gonzales, Tony
Gooden
Gosar
Graves
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Hamadeh (AZ)
Haridopolos
Harrigan
Harris (MD)
Harris (NC)
Harshbarger
Hern (OK)
Higgins (LA)
Hill (AR)
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Hurd (CO)
Issa
Jack
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kean
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy (UT)
Kiggans (VA)
Kiley (CA)
Kim
Knott
Kustoff
LaHood
LaLota
LaMalfa
Langworthy
Latta
Lawler
Lee (FL)
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Mackenzie
Malliotakis
Maloy
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McDowell
McGuire
Messmer
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Mills
Moolenaar
Moore (AL)
Moore (NC)
Moore (UT)
Moore (WV)
Moran
Newhouse
Norman
Obernolte
Ogles
Onder
Owens
Palmer
Patronis
Perry
Pfluger
Reschenthaler
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rose
Rouzer
Roy
Rulli
Rutherford
Salazar
Scalise
Schmidt
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Shreve
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Strong
Stutzman
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Turner (OH)
Van Drew
Van Duyne
Van Epps
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wied
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke
NAYS--203
Adams
Aguilar
Amo
Ansari
Auchincloss
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bell
Bera
Bishop
Bonamici
Boyle (PA)
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bynum
Carbajal
Carson
Carter (LA)
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Conaway
Correa
Costa
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Cuellar
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Davis (NC)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Dexter
Dingell
Doggett
Elfreth
Escobar
Evans (PA)
Fields
Figures
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Friedman
Frost
Garamendi
Garcia (CA)
Garcia (IL)
Gillen
Golden (ME)
Gomez
Gonzalez, V.
Goodlander
Gottheimer
Gray
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jacobs
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy (NY)
Khanna
Krishnamoorthi
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latimer
Lee (NV)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Liccardo
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Magaziner
Mannion
Matsui
McBride
McClain Delaney
McClellan
McCollum
McDonald Rivet
McGarvey
McGovern
McIver
Meeks
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Min
Morelle
Morrison
Moskowitz
Moulton
Mrvan
Mullin
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
Ocasio-Cortez
Olszewski
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pelosi
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Pingree
Pocan
Pou
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Randall
Raskin
Riley (NY)
Rivas
Ross
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Simon
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Stansbury
Stanton
Stevens
Strickland
Subramanyam
Suozzi
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Tran
Underwood
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Vindman
Walkinshaw
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Whitesides
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)
NOT VOTING--26
Arrington
Barr
Baumgartner
Beyer
Courtney
Crenshaw
Diaz-Balart
Espaillat
Feenstra
Fitzpatrick
Garcia (TX)
Goldman (NY)
Hinson
Jordan
McBath
Miller-Meeks
Moore (WI)
Murphy
Nadler
Nehls
Nunn (IA)
Ruiz
Spartz
Swalwell
Valadao
Westerman
{time} 1052
Ms. DeGETTE and Mr. SCHNEIDER changed their vote from ``yea'' to
``nay.''
Mr. ZINKE changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated for:
Mrs. SPARTZ. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted YEA
on Roll Call No. 343.
Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted
YEA on Roll Call No. 343.
Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have
voted YEA on Roll Call No. 343.
Stated against:
Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote today
because the vote was closed despite my being present in the well and
attempting to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll
Call No. 343.
Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted NAY on
Roll Call No. 343.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moore of West Virginia). The question is
on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 213,
noes 209, not voting 11, as follows:
[Roll No. 344]
AYES--213
Aderholt
Alford
Allen
Amodei (NV)
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Barr
Barrett
Baumgartner
Bean (FL)
Begich
Bentz
Bergman
Bice
Biggs (AZ)
Biggs (SC)
Bilirakis
Boebert
Bost
Brecheen
Bresnahan
Buchanan
Burchett
Burlison
Calvert
Cammack
Carey
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Ciscomani
Cline
Cloud
Clyde
Cole
Collins
Comer
Crane
Crank
Crawford
Crenshaw
Davidson
De La Cruz
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donalds
Downing
Dunn (FL)
Edwards
Ellzey
Emmer
Estes
Evans (CO)
Ezell
Fallon
Fedorchak
Fine
Finstad
Fischbach
Fitzgerald
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flood
Fong
Foxx
Franklin, Scott
Fry
Fulcher
Garbarino
Gill (TX)
Gimenez
Goldman (TX)
Gonzales, Tony
Gooden
Gosar
Graves
Greene (GA)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hageman
Hamadeh (AZ)
Haridopolos
Harrigan
Harris (MD)
Harris (NC)
Harshbarger
Hern (OK)
Higgins (LA)
Hill (AR)
Houchin
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunt
Hurd (CO)
Issa
Jack
Jackson (TX)
James
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Kean
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy (UT)
Kiley (CA)
Kim
Knott
Kustoff
LaHood
LaMalfa
Langworthy
Latta
Lawler
Lee (FL)
Letlow
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luna
Luttrell
Mace
Mackenzie
Malliotakis
Maloy
Mann
Massie
Mast
McCaul
McClain
McClintock
McCormick
McDowell
McGuire
Messmer
Meuser
Miller (IL)
Miller (OH)
Miller (WV)
Miller-Meeks
Mills
Moolenaar
Moore (AL)
Moore (NC)
Moore (UT)
Moore (WV)
Moran
Nehls
Newhouse
Norman
Obernolte
Ogles
Onder
Owens
Palmer
Patronis
Perry
Pfluger
Reschenthaler
Rogers (AL)
Rose
Rouzer
Roy
Rulli
Rutherford
Salazar
Scalise
Schmidt
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Self
Sessions
Shreve
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spartz
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Strong
Stutzman
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Tiffany
Timmons
Turner (OH)
Valadao
Van Drew
Van Duyne
Van Epps
Van Orden
Wagner
Walberg
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Westerman
Wied
Williams (TX)
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Yakym
Zinke
NOES--209
Adams
Aguilar
Amo
Ansari
Auchincloss
Balint
Barragan
Beatty
Bell
Bera
Beyer
Bishop
Bonamici
Boyle (PA)
Brown
Brownley
Budzinski
Bynum
Carbajal
Carson
Carter (LA)
Casar
Case
Casten
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Cherfilus-McCormick
Chu
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Conaway
Correa
Costa
Craig
Crockett
Crow
Cuellar
Davids (KS)
Davis (IL)
Davis (NC)
Dean (PA)
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Deluzio
DeSaulnier
Dexter
Dingell
Doggett
Elfreth
Escobar
Espaillat
Evans (PA)
Fields
Figures
Fletcher
Foster
Foushee
Frankel, Lois
Friedman
Frost
Garamendi
Garcia (CA)
Garcia (IL)
Gillen
Golden (ME)
Goldman (NY)
Gomez
Gonzalez, V.
Goodlander
Gottheimer
Gray
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Harder (CA)
Hayes
Himes
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Hoyle (OR)
Huffman
Ivey
Jackson (IL)
Jacobs
[[Page H5956]]
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kamlager-Dove
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy (NY)
Khanna
Kiggans (VA)
Krishnamoorthi
Landsman
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latimer
Lee (NV)
Lee (PA)
Leger Fernandez
Levin
Liccardo
Lieu
Lofgren
Lynch
Magaziner
Mannion
Matsui
McBride
McClain Delaney
McClellan
McCollum
McDonald Rivet
McGarvey
McGovern
McIver
Meeks
Menendez
Meng
Mfume
Min
Moore (WI)
Morelle
Morrison
Moskowitz
Moulton
Mrvan
Mullin
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
Ocasio-Cortez
Olszewski
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pelosi
Perez
Peters
Pettersen
Pingree
Pocan
Pou
Pressley
Quigley
Ramirez
Randall
Raskin
Riley (NY)
Rivas
Ross
Ruiz
Ryan
Salinas
Sanchez
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schneider
Scholten
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Sewell
Sherman
Simon
Smith (WA)
Sorensen
Soto
Stansbury
Stanton
Stevens
Strickland
Subramanyam
Suozzi
Sykes
Takano
Thanedar
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tokuda
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres (NY)
Trahan
Tran
Underwood
Vargas
Vasquez
Veasey
Velazquez
Vindman
Walkinshaw
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Whitesides
Williams (GA)
Wilson (FL)
NOT VOTING--11
Courtney
Feenstra
Garcia (TX)
Hinson
LaLota
McBath
Murphy
Nadler
Nunn (IA)
Rogers (KY)
Swalwell
{time} 1106
So the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, due to illness, I was unable to
vote today. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted NAY on Roll
Call No. 343, Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 953; NO on Roll
Call No. 344, H. Res. 953.
PERSONAL EXPLANATION
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, today, I missed votes due to a personal
matter. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 343
and NO on Roll Call No. 344.
____________________